Change My World
by StarScheme
Summary: Spinel is a Mermaid who has been captured and is soon to be put on display until Steven discovers her and helps her escape. Trying to get Spinel back to familiar waters, Steven does his best to befriend her despite her hatred and distrust of humans. The journey back to her home takes several wrong turns, but Steven is determined to help Spinel no matter what.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One: That Fateful Day**

_**July, 7, 42-61**_

_**That day was to be a simple run about town. The streets were alive and the townsfolk ore chipper than if ever see them. With everyone in such high spirits, surely this year's festival was shaping up to be something grand.**_

_**However, it wasn't long before I learned of the reason for all the excitement. As it turns out, a mermaid had been captured. They were bringing her in on the next boat and it was already docking. A mermaid hadn't been seen in over 50 years. They used to live close to the shores, until fear spread amongst the people on land. Now, capturing a mermaid was an easy path to gold and perhaps a new title.**_

_**The mermaid would be put on display for everyone to see. It was a tradition that when a mermaid was captured, it would be toured for entertainment on its way to the capital where it would be presented to the royal family in exchange for a reward.**_

_**Though it was mostly curiosity that led me there, it turned out that very curiosity would lead me down a road I never imagined for myself. For that was the day I met my first mermaid and the day…my life changed forever. It was on that day; I met Spinel. -S, Universe**_

Though it was meant to be just another day for the town, the streets bustled about as if the Queen herself was to make an appearance. Steven had already finished his morning routine, making sure to buy the supplies he needed for the next week or so. The young man had only just turned 17yrs old, but was already living on his own just outside of town. His father, missing for the last four years of his life had already been presumed dead.

It was because of this, the people in town knew Steven well. Many families had offered to take him in, but the boy refused every time, ever optimistic that his father would come home and shrugging off the ones that insisted Greg was no longer of this world.

"Steven!" A young girl called out as she pushed her way through the unusual high volume of people on the street.

"Oh, good morning Connie," Steven greeted with a smile.

Connie Maheswaran. A young, bespectacled woman that had been a close friend to Steven ever since his father disappeared. Her dark skin was covered in dirt already and her long ebony hair had been messily tied up in a bun, no doubt in haste. Though she wore a rather expensive looking dress, it was tied up towards her knees, clearly in an attempt to keep the hem from the dirt, but it appeared that had failed miserably.

"Your mother is going to throw a fit when she sees you," Steven chuckled.

Connie looked down at herself and smiled nervously as she pat her dress down, loosening the string that tied it up to her knees and letting it flow down towards her ankles once more. "Yeah, well…I really wanted to get a look at the ship that's bringing the mermaid in. Trying to get through the crowd in this dress was such a hassle and my hair kept getting caught."

"But how'd you get so dirty?"

Connie sighed miserably, "I…got into a little scuffle with one of the boys."

"Again?" asked Steven, unsurprised.

"Listen to this, Steven," Connie insisted, "he was talking about the mermaid in such a rude manner! He was laughing and even said he hoped she would misbehave so he could see her punished! I couldn't just sit back after hearing that. Before I knew it, my book was out of my hands and knocking him in the back of the head. I mean, don't you think this is barbaric?! The first mermaid to be seen in my lifetime and she's to be caged on display as some side show before she's hauled off to the capital like the ones in the past. When my father told me about this morning, I nearly screamed in protest. I wanted to get close enough to the boat so the sailors could hear me, but then I heard that boy…"

Steven listened as Connie continued to talk about the injustice humanity was practicing. Though she tended to lose herself when she got fired up, it's why Steven enjoyed her company. She wasn't like most of the other townsfolk. She was always pushing for change and speaking out against something she found to be unfair. People might have shunned her for it if it weren't for her Mothers position. Being a Doctor was a well respected profession and no one dared offend the physicians only daughter, lest their own children ever needed treatment.

"…I mean it's just deplorable," continued Connie with a frown as she looked out at the celebrating masses. "This kind of prejudice is disgusting."

Steven nodded his head, noticing that the crowd had nearly doubled in size since they began talking. "…I agree. I'd love to see a mermaid…but not like this. I mean, it's not just this, but who knows what happens to them at the capital."

"The royal family should asham—-eep!" Connie was confident in her words until she spotted her father weaving his way through the crowds. Remembering her filthy dress, Connie grabbed Stevens bag of supplies in a panic.

"Hey! Don't you have to go and report in for work soon? I bet you don't have time to take these home. Why don't I do that for you? I'll be sure to look for you after your shift ends! Bye Steven!" She spoke so quickly and rushed off without waiting for a reply that Steven just sighed with a smile.

Now that he no longer had to make his trip home, Steven made his way to the boardwalk where he reported daily for work. With the festival only a day away, there were a lot of odd jobs to go around and Steven was in high demand for most manual labor jobs since he seemed to be a lot stronger than the other men.

"Ah, Steven my boy," greeted an overly cheerful looking man.

"Good morning, Mr. Smiley. You need any help today?" asked Steven as the man threw an arm around his shoulder.

"I sure do! I've been waiting to hand out this job just for you, Steven. I need someone real strong and trustworthy. You might have heard that a mermaid is being brought in, well, it just happens she's going to be displayed right in the middle of my amusement park! Can you imagine all the business that's going to bring me?" exclaimed the joyous man with a chuckle. "So I need you to set up the stage."

Steven grimaced. He didn't like the idea of helping to humiliate the mermaid in any way.  
"Ah…I'd rather do something else…"

"But Steven, who else could I trust with this?" Mr. Smiley asked as his smile faded. He scanned the people around them before leaning in close, "between you and me," he began in a hushed voice, "the mermaid is already back stage. I can't just let anyone help with the set up. You're the most honest kid I know. Anyone else might try to steal a scale or hurt the creature just for kicks. So I was really hoping that you could…you know, keep an eye on the mermaid a bit. I don't think anyone could out muscle you to get to her."

It was true. Though Steven knew most people in town wouldn't be so cruel, there were a lot of strangers from other places hoping to see the mermaid and who knew how many of them hated her just out of prejudice. "…f…fine." Steven agreed reluctantly.

"That's my boy!" exclaimed Mr. Smiley, leaning back up and slapping the boys back with his trademark grin restored. "Be sure to find me before the curtain goes up! I'll be sure to reward you!"

"…just the regular pay is fine…" said Steven quietly. He didn't even know if he wanted to get paid for something like this. Once he was given his instructions, Steven trudged to the backstage area where the mermaid was being held. Even if he was a little curious to see his first Mermaid, this was not how he hoped it would happen. As he approached, two men stood at attention, seemingly guarding the cage where the mermaid was being held. Though it appeared to be a large cage, it was covered by a loose curtain. All Steven could see was the very bottom and a faint pink fin that swished along the floor of the cage.

"I'm here to…relieve you…I guess." Steven announced to the gentlemen, pulling out a piece of paper that Mr. Smiley had given him.

One of the guards smiled, "Finally. My feet are killing me. We've been at sea with this _thing_ for weeks and I need a break."

Steven frowned. Why did he have to interact with people like this? Connie was right. Simply deplorable.  
"…Shouldn't she be in water?" he asked as he looked past the men, noting how she appeared to be inside a dry cage.

"Don't you know anything about mermaids, kid?" One of the guards asked with a raised brow. "In the water, they can use magic and stuff. If you want to keep on docile, you have to make sure they don't get any water."

"but isn't that painful?" Steven asked, unable to hide his concern. "They NEED water."

"It's not gonna kill the thing. Just makes it weak, and trust me, you don't want this thing to gain any strength. I was there when our captain caught the beast. We're lucky it didn't kill us all at sea. Now, don't be no bleed'n heart and just make sure no one gets too close to the thing, 'kay?"  
With that, the guards walked off, laughing as they exchanged jokes. Surely about Steven's concern for the mermaid.

He waited a good few minutes to make sure neither of the sailors would be coming back for anything. Once he was he'd be left alone, he took a deep breath and apologized to Mr. Smiley internally. How could he possibly sit idly by while this happened? Especially when he had this rare chance to actually do something about it? He turned towards the cage and grabbed the heavy curtain, pulling it off with ease to reveal the mermaid at last.

Steven stared in awe for a moment once he caught sight of the creature. The mermaid had a light pink tint to her human skin, but her scales were a brighter pink, covering most of her chest in what appeared to be the shape of an upside down heart. Her tail was covered in those bright pink scales as well, the fin at the bottom nearly transparent against the cage floor. Her face was mostly human, save for the ears that resembled a fish's fin. She had dull red hair that had been pinned up in pigtails, but what Steven noticed more than anything else, was her bright, magenta colored eyes and the dark lines that ran down her cheeks like permanent tears. The mermaid was breathing heavily, her arms above her head as she was tied tight around the wrists with a rope that connected to the roof of the cage. She had been glaring at Steven the moment he removed the curtain. Even if her gaze was full of scorn, Steven couldn't help but think she was beautiful.

Taking a knee in order to meet her gaze, Steven leaned close, placing his hands on the bars.  
"My name is Steven. …what's yours?" he asked in a whisper.

The mermaid only continued to leer at him, either unwilling to speak or unable to. She **did **look terribly weak. Not having any water must have really done a number on her and he didn't know enough about Mermaids to know exactly how it affected them. He actually didn't know if she could even understand him. He looked around the cage and then scanned the backstage area. How was he supposed to get her out of here without anyone noticing? No matter how heavy she was, Steven was sure that wouldn't be a problem for him, but he couldn't just carry her off in his arms in broad daylight. There were too many people wandering around they were all on edge to see the mermaid. He'd have to find something to hide her in that no one would find too suspicious.

The mermaid watched cautiously as Steven rushed about backstage, gathering up random things and large wheelbarrow. He placed everything in a pile beside the cage and looked around once again. Though he was trying to be cautious, he also knew he had to be quick. Who knew when the sailors would return. Leaning back down to meet the mermaids eyes, Steven offered a smile, hoping that even if she didn't understand him, she would see he was not trying to hurt her.

"I'm going to get you out of here," he stated calmly before he grabbed the bars and began to pull, gritting his teeth as they slowly started to budge. The mermaid watched in surprise now, amazed that a human had enough strength to pull off these iron bars. Once the bars were removed, Steven placed them down carefully and slipped his way into the cage.

The mermaid's tail swished along the floor as she attempted to back up against the bars, pulling at the ropes that held her wrists. Steven could see he had alarmed her. Holding his hands up, he stopped moving. "…I'm not going to hurt you, but we have to hurry. I have to get you out of here before someone comes to check on you." He insisted quietly.

With a raised brow, the mermaid allowed Steven to get closer, watching in confusion as he reached up and worked to untie the ropes that held her wrists. The ropes fell down into the mermaids lap and she pulled her arms back to herself with a brief look of relief. Glancing down, Steven could see how bruised and red her wrists were, the scales had all but been rubbed off or peeled back. It must have been from her struggling. He wanted to give her time, but they didn't have much to spare.  
"…I'm sorry they hurt you. …If you can understand me a little…I need to put you in there," he explained, pointing to the wheelbarrow behind him. "I'll try and get you to the water, but I have to hide you or they'll just catch you again."

The mermaid stared in silence, glancing from Steven to the junk pile behind him. Even though it seemed like he didn't want to hurt her, she couldn't be sure that this wasn't some trick. Perhaps he just wanted to capture her himself in order to get the reward instead of that ship's captain. Once more, he seemed under the impression that she couldn't understand him. So why was he telling her that he'd help her to escape if he thought she didn't speak his language? Was that some part his plan to trick her? Still, there weren't a lot of other chances to get out of here and if he **was** planning on keeping her for himself, there may have been a better chance to get the upper hand with just him.  
"…Okay." She answered finally.

Steven gasped lightly. Her voice may have been hoarse and weak, but he heard her clearly. With a bright smile, he extended his arms slowly. Now that he was sure she could understand him, this was going to be much easier. "I'm going to pick you up and put you in there," he informed her before scooping her up effortlessly, once again surprising the mermaid with his strength. Surely her tail was quite heavy on land. Placing her inside the wheelbarrow as gently as he could, he looked down at her sympathetically as he grabbed a couple heavy curtains for the stage. "I'm sorry, I'm gonna have to cover you with a few things. Try not to move either, or someone might think something is up."

She said nothing, but nodded her head in response. With one last smile towards her, Steven placed the curtains over her, doing his best to be careful as he attempted to arrange her tail inside the wheelbarrow comfortably. He could see all the missing scales and cuts that she had sustained and he didn't want to cause her anymore pain. Once she was completely covered up, Steven placed a few more random things on top of her, making sure it was as light as possible. The last thing he did was cover the cage back up, hopefully in order to give them a head start. Steven took a long, deep breath. This was the first crime he had ever committed, but if it was to save someone, so be it. He just hoped that he could get her into the water before he was caught, so at the very least, she could get home safely.

**A/N: Hello Everyone! Thanks for reading the first chapter! I hope you all enjoyed it! I'll get working on Chapter Two right away! If you want to see drawings of this AU, you can follow me on Tumblr. I'll also be posting updates on the story's progress there. The story will also be posted on  
My Username is the same on both platforms. See you all later! **


	2. I'll see you later, My friend

**Chapter Two: I'll see you later, my Friend**

Having left the backstage area carting the wheelbarrow along, Steven found that this was far more nerve wracking then he anticipated. He couldn't remember how to act in public. He wasn't even sure at what pace he should be walking. If he went too fast, people might get suspicious. Or maybe he was over thinking it.

All he had to do is make sure to avoid Mr. Smiley and those sailors. They were the only people that knew he was supposed to be guarding the Mermaid. Hopefully, no one would notice she was gone until it was too late.

No one was giving him a second glance as Steven weaved through the crowds, trying to reach the water. He'd have to find a spot where no one was watching and he certainly couldn't release her at the docks where all those sailors were. This plan was not thought out enough. He might have been angry at himself for that had it not been for the time crunch they were under.

Then, a thought occurred to him. Once they saw her missing, the first place they would look is around the water. If they assumed that Steven was trying to help her escape, they would guard the shores. She might just end up getting caught again.

"Okay, okay," he muttered to himself in an attempt to calm his nerves. Pushing the wheelbarrow quickly behind a tent that was being set up, Steven lifted the curtain slightly to peek in on the mermaid. She didn't look good. Not that he was surprised. He had placed her under very heavy velvet curtains and it was already so hot that day.

If he couldn't take her to the water right away, he had to at least get her out of the sun and fast. Taking a couple of deep breath, Steven tightened his grip on the wheelbarrows handles and turned on his heel, rushing the mermaid the back way to his home. It took a little longer, but it was out of sight. Thank goodness his father valued his privacy and enjoyed living away from the town.

Steven's home was a small wooden cottage on the other side of a large hill, standing just walking distance from the forests entrance that led out towards the neighboring town. Steven didn't realize how fast he had been running until he finally stopped in front of his door, panting for breath. The pressure of avoiding detection had him more panicked than he thought it would. Without missing a beat, Steven burst open his front door and wheeled her inside, swiftly removing the junk and curtains he had stacked on top of her. Her chest rose and fell rapidly, trying to keep up with her haggard, fast gasps for breath.

He didn't have the time to be too careful with her. Reaching down, he lifted her into his arms and hurried into the washroom. Placing the mermaid into the bathtub, he turned the nozzle up as far as it would go. She had been deprived of water for who knows how long. Hopefully this would help to ease her pain. Once the tub was full, Steven felt a bit more relaxed.

"...why are you doing this...?" The mermaid asked now, barely glancing at him, her head resting against the edge of the tub, still too weak to do much of anything.

Steven was taken aback once again. She had been silent for so long that he kept forgetting she could speak.

"Ah-um—-I couldn't just leave you there." He answered, rubbing the back of his neck with his right hand. It was the truth. His reasoning didn't run much deeper than wanting to help someone in need.

"You're an idiot," she stated simply, looking away from him and staring at the wall absently. The water felt so nice. She could already feel her energy returning to her.

"...once they figure out you took me, they'll put you on trial for treason."

"I...am aware of that." Replied Steven with a sad smile. "...but I've never been able to watch as someone suffers. You're not some sideshow."

The mermaid shifted herself in the tub, leaning her chin in her hand as she stared up at Steven from the side of the tub. "If this is a trick, it's a dumb one. I don't trust humans."

"Well, I've never been good at tricking people," he joked, trying to lighten the mood. He didn't blame her at all for her distrust. Humans hunted mermaids for status after all. Why should she trust anyone on land?

"Still, it doesn't matter if you trust me. I'm still going to help," Steven said with a smile, reaching over and taking the mermaids hand, sadly looking down at her swollen, bruised wrists. He then walked to a small cabinet silently and pulled out a first-aid kit. Without saying another word, he sat himself down beside the bath and began to treat her wounds with a soothing salve to start.

The mermaid watched in cautious silence, allowing him to help her, even though it would have healed if she stayed in the water long enough. So maybe this human wasn't trying to trick her, but that didn't erase everything his people had done.

"...what was your name again?"

"Steven, Steven Universe. What's yours?"

For a moment, she wasn't sure about answering him, but with everything he was doing, he deserved at least that much, right?

"...Spinel." she answered finally.

"Spinel? That's a really pretty name," Steven replied with a grin, just finishing up the wrappings around her wrist to keep the cuts from bleeding out. With her wounds cleaned and bandaged, he took her hand and brought her wrist to his lips, kissing over the bandage very carefully. "All done," he announced happily.

Spinel felt her cheeks start to burn. Slowly, she pulled her arms back to herself, staring suspiciously at Steven the entire time. This human was strange. Did he really just want to help her?

"...thanks..." she mumbled begrudgingly, sinking into the water slightly to hide her bashful expression.

Steven stood up and smiled, finding it rather cute how confused and embarrassed she was.

However, the two didn't get a lot of time to relax before a loud banging came from the front door, startling the both of them.

Spinel readied herself, summoning a large Scythe into her hands, causing Steven to jump.

"Wh-how? Put that away!" Steven stammered in a hushed voice. "We're not fighting anyone!"

"Speak for yourself!" Spinel hissed. "I'm not letting them take me again."

Steven knew he couldn't argue with her over defending herself, but he would prefer to solve this peacefully.

"Just-just don't do anything yet," he pleaded quietly as he edged towards the the door. "I'll go see who it is first."

Spinel growled in her throat. It's not like she had much choice. The reason mermaids had a hard time escaping once caught, was because they were all but useless on land. It's why many of her friends never came home.

Steven stood in front of his homes entrance now, trying to calm himself with some deep breaths. It was a good sign that the visitor wasn't continuously knocking or trying to break the door down. Finally, he creaked open the door and was extremely relieved when he saw Connie standing there. "Oh, it's you, Connie," he greeted, allowing himself to exhale the breath he had been holding.

Connie didn't greet him in return. Instead, she pushed her way past him into the house and started looking around with purpose.

"uh…C-Connie?" he began, shutting the door quickly.

"Where is she?" demanded the young girl.

Steven wasn't sure how Connie could have possibly known what he had done.  
"How…?"

"My dad is head of security for the town! He got word that **someone** took the mermaid, but they are trying to keep it quiet. I also heard that **you **were the last one to be seen with her. I'd have to be an idiot to not connect the dots! I had to lie to my father and tell him that I saw you near the beach."

He felt bad that she had to lie for him, but it bought them more time.  
"Thank—"

"We don't have time for that," Connie insisted. Though she was proud of Steven for what he had done, she couldn't help but feel a painful pit form in her stomach. She knew what this meant. Steven had to leave. If they caught him, he'd be seen as a traitor and taken away.  
"Since everyone is looking for you by the water, I was able to sneak a few things out of my mother's clinic. You'll stand out too much with that wheelbarrow. I brought you a wheelchair and few of my old dresses. You can try to disguise her, but…"

"Connie…I'm sorry. I couldn't just leave her there." Steven said quietly, knowing this was the last time they would see one another.

Connie stifled her tears and smiled instead. "Hey, justice is more important than a peaceful life," she insisted, doing her best to be brave about this.  
"Look, I heard rumors about a woman a few towns over. They say she helps mermaids that end up on land. I don't know how she helps or if it's even true, but it's your best bet. Once they decide to announce this publicly, there will be guards near every shore to try and catch you."

"R-right." Steven nodded, trying to take this all in. His impulsive decision was derailing his entire life, but what was he supposed to do?

Connie could see that Steven was a little frozen, no doubt overwhelmed by the situation now. She couldn't exactly blame him. However, if they didn't hurry, she would lose her best friend and his efforts would come to nothing. "Steven!" she called out abruptly to get his attention. "Go pack a bag and some food. I'll keep watch until you gather your things."

"Okay, yeah, I'll be right back!" he replied hastily, dashing away for his bedroom to get his things together.

Connie glanced towards the washroom. Surely the mermaid was in there. Where else would you put someone that needed to sit in water? Walking into the bathroom, Connie was met with a rather hostile looking Mermaid holding a large pink Scythe. She certainly didn't expect the weapon, but she still couldn't help but smile. This was her first time seeing a mermaid and she was gorgeous.  
"My gosh! You're even prettier than the pictures in my books!" Connie exclaimed.

Spinel raised a brow. Another strange human, huh?  
"…You're…?"

"I'm Steven's friend, Connie. I'm here to help." She greeted, looking the mermaid over carefully. Steven rushed in with his pack strapped to his back. Glad to see that Spinel had not cut Connie up. "Good. I'll go and get everything; you get her out of the bath." Connie stated as she headed for the door once more.

"What's going on?" Spinel asked, dismissing her scythe in a brief stream of light as Steven approached the tub.

"We have to get out of here. I know I said I would get you to the water, but that's the first place they will be looking for us. We have to get as far from the water as possible now." Steven explained while he scooped her from the water and carried her towards the front door where Connie was waiting with the wheelchair.

"Wait, even further from the water?" Spinel asked in a panic. She didn't want to go through that again.

"If you go through the forest, there are lakes and ponds. You won't have to go completely without, but the last thing they will suspect is a mermaid traveling **away **from the water. It's the safest route for the two of you." Connie added as she pulled a blanket from her bag. Once Steven placed Spinel in the chair, Connie set to work on concealing Spinel as best she could. She placed the blanket over her lap and handed her a black cloak wear over her shoulders. "Put this on for now, but when you two get a moment to rest, put this dress on. The more you can cover your scales the better."

Spinel was little lost in the flow of this. These humans seemed determined to help her escape, which simply threw her for a loop. This Steven boy was essentially becoming a traitor. He'd never be welcome by humans again. Why go so far for someone you didn't know? She watched in stunned silence as Connie handed Steven an old book with several loose papers sticking out from its pages.

"I drew a small map and wrote down a few things you might need to know, I'm sorry it was so rushed, but when I heard about this, I didn't have a lot of time…" Connie's voice trailed off as tears began to slip from her eyes. Now that it was that much closer to goodbye, she couldn't stop them. Steven was important to her and now…she might never see him again.

Steven placed his hands on Connie's shoulders and did his best to smile for her.  
"You've done more than enough. Thank you…"

Letting her tears flow freely now, Connie leaned in against Steven's chest and hugged him tight.  
"Don't get caught," she choked out. "…I'll do everything I can to buy you a little more time. Make sure to rest and eat properly. I know how you push yourself…"

Steven returned her embrace, his own tears threatening to escape. He never thought he would be leaving like this.  
"…Goodbye, Connie…" he said softly despite the lump in his throat.

"No." Connie insisted, pulling back and wiping her eyes. "I'll see you later, Steven Universe."

With a tearful smile, Steven nodded his head, rubbing the tears from his eyes as well.  
"Yeah, I'll see you later."

Not wanting to drag this out any further, Connie urged Steven to hurry along. With one last glance, he pushed Spinel forward and left the house he had grown up in, heading quickly for the forests entrance. Connie watched his back get further and further away until it was gone completely, vanishing from her sight into the maze of trees. Her vision blurred terribly as she stared off into the distance, her tears flooding her eyes once they were gone. Standing in his doorway, Connie allowed herself to sob openly now. Her tears gushed down her cheeks to puddle at her feet as she recalled when she and Steven had first met. There were so many other things she had wanted to say to him, but now she'd have to keep those words bottled away.  
"…You did a good thing…" Connie sobbed as she smiled through her tears. "You always do good things…"

**A/N: Well, Steven and Spinel are off and on the run now. Hopefully you will stick with them as they try to get Spinel home. However, the mention of another Mermaid might set the two a little off track. Hmmmm... **


	3. Other Mermaids?

**Chapter Three: Other Mermaids?**

A couple hours had gone by since they entered the forest. Both Steven and Spinel had been silent, anxiously waiting for something awful to happen, but it seemed for now, they weren't being pursued. Connie's plan to throw off the townspeople must have worked well enough to give them a good head start. Besides, it was like she said, who would think a mermaid would want to trek through the forest rather travel near the ocean?

"How are you feeling?" Asked Steven finally, leaning over a bit to try and see her face as he pushed her along the narrow dirt path.

Spinel had been spending these last couple of hours trying to wrack her brain for some explanation. There had to be some other reason Steven was doing this. He was an enemy to his people now. He couldn't be doing this for nothing. No human did something for nothing. That much she was sure of.

"...you know..." she began; disregarding his questions altogether, "I don't grant wishes or anything. That's a myth."

"Oh? I bet Connie would be interested in knowing that. It's a shame she didn't get to speak with you more. She had a lot of questions about mermaids..." Steven replied. He still hoped he and Connie would see one another again. She would be happy to ask Spinel everything she had been curious about her entire life.

"Hey, she once mentioned that each mermaid has one special skill or purpose. Is that true?"

Spinel appeared flummoxed now. So he wasn't after wishes either? Was he really like this, or just really good at playing dumb?

"...yeah, that's true."

Steven beamed, "so what's yours?"

Spinel blushed and cleared her throat, "I'd rather not say."

"Oh..." a clearly disappointed Steven sighed.

Glancing back, Spinel could see how dejected he looked and quickly turned her gaze away. Everything showed on his face and Spinel was a little confused as to why she felt bad for not giving him an answer.

"...one of my old friends, her trait was creation. She could create weapons, tools, and small structures."

His mood sprung back at once. "That's amazing!"

Spinel smirked slightly, "yeah. She made my weapon...and everyone else's. She really enjoys making new things, but it takes a lot of energy. Sometimes she makes herself sick."

"She sounds like a stubborn person, but I'd like to meet her," Steven mused. "Do you have a lot of friends back home?"

Spinel had enjoyed reminiscing about her friend, but Stevens question had brought her right back to reality. The reality that reminded her of how awful humans were.

"I have...a handful of friends back home. There used to be a lot more...before the war..."

Steven felt as though he'd stepped on a land mine. He had nearly forgotten about the war. After all, it happened long before he was born and had been over for thousands of years. Suddenly, he stopped walking when a thought occurred to him.

"Wait-you were a part of that war?!"

"...well, not as much as the others were...but, yes." She didn't want to say that her trait was next to useless in a fight.

"But...then that would make you..." Steven started, attempting to do the math in his head.

"I'm over six thousand years old." Spinel answered before he could finish.

Steven was completely thrown. He knew Mermaids lived long lives, but at most, he was thinking a few hundred years.

He looked down and Spinel and almost laughed at the prospect of her being thousands of years old.

"Well, you look great for someone your age." He joked, continuing to push her chair through the trees.

"Six thousand is actually pretty young for my kind..." she added with a pout, thinking Steven perceived her as some old lady now.

"Heh, well that must be why you're so pretty."

Spinel felt her cheeks burn once again. He was so loose with his compliments. Did he not feel foolish saying things like that? A human finding a mermaid beautiful or anything near it was strange. Even his friend Connie had complimented her like that. "You're weird."

"So I've been told," Steven chuckled.

Even though they were basically on the run for their lives, Steven couldn't help but find this pleasant. At least Spinel was speaking to him now and though she often seemed to be angry with him, there were moments when her eyes softened and it warmed his heart.

After walking for hours, Steven tried to find a place where they could rest a moment. The forest was dense, but he had to be doubly cautious. Though he found a place for them to hide, it happened to be behind several berry bushes, ones that were covered in large, sharp thorns.

"This is perfect. We can make camp here." Steven announced.

Spinel gawked at the thorns and once again thought there was something wrong with him. "You can't be serious, how are we gonna get through—Hey!" Before she could continue, Steven had already scooped her up from the chair, holding her high enough that she wouldn't touch the thorns.

"H-hey, wait a second, you're gonna get all cut up! Don't just—"

"—if you don't stop yelling, someone is going to hear you," Steven insisted as he pushed through the thorny bushes, doing his best to keep Spinel out of harm's way. Though he winced a bit as the thorns snagged at his clothes and slit his skin, it wasn't as bad as he thought it would be. Once he made it through the first patch of bushes, there was a small clearing in the middle. "See? It's perfect. And it's like we have a little barrier around us. Hopefully that will keep the animals away." Steven placed Spinel down onto the grass. "Now, just wait here. I'll go get our things and look for some water. ...I guess I'll also need to get some firewood. Huh, I wonder if I can actually manage to start a fire without matches," he joked before taking a step to head back through the bushes.

Steven's words repeated in her head. Wait here? "NO!" She screamed out, apparently alarming a few birds that were nestled up in the trees around them.

Steven nearly jumped, turning back to Spinel. "Wha...are you okay?"

Spinel quickly turned her head and hugged her tail as she sat against the grass.

"I-I'm fine. Just hurry and-and try not to get too cut up."

Clearly she was lying, but he did have to get firewood and water before it got too dark to see. "I'll be back as soon as I can. ...just...don't worry, okay?" Steven reassured her before reluctantly making his way back through the bushes.

Spinel glanced in the direction where Steven had wandered off and she started to feel herself begin to tremble.

"Stop it..." she whispered to herself, hugging her tail tighter as she closed her eyes. Rocking herself lightly, Spinel waiting in silence, the only sound around her was her heavy breathing as she tried to calm herself down. The silence of the forest was only making it worse.

How long was this going to take? How long was she going to have to wait here alone? Even when she was being held Captive on that ship, she was never alone. Suddenly, she felt a cold hand graze her cheek and a distorted voice whispering, "Why don't we play a game?"

With a start, Spinel gasped and snapped her head up, expecting to see someone there, but was met with only the dense Forest around her. She sighed, covering her face in her hands, doing her best to block out the memories, luckily for her, that's when Steven came pushing through the bushes once again. How much time had gone by? He was holding up the wheelchair with one hand, all of their supplies in its seat, and in the other hand, he appeared to have found some water that he stored in the only empty container they had.

"Sorry, it took a while to find some water," he explained as he set everything down. He was so fixated on keeping everything from falling, he didn't notice Spinels expression right away, but now that he got a better look...

"What happened?!" Steven exclaimed in a panic, quickly dropping to his knees to inspect her before looking around them. She looked terrified. Had someone come while he was away?

Spinel wasn't fully aware of the face she had been making, but when she saw Steven there, she just stared at him in stunned silence.

"I...I'm fine," she answered finally. "You should be more worried about yourself," Spinel insisted once she saw his torn shirt and the cuts along his skin.

Steven was not deflected by her concern, but so long they weren't in immediate danger, he decided not to press her about it. He knew she had many reasons to be closed off, he just hoped that soon she would be able to trust him.

"This is fine. I'm a fast healer," he replied, reaching over and pulling the water jug towards her.

"So...I don't know if you can just drink it, or if you need to just uh...pour it on you, but this was the best I could do for now." He finished awkwardly.

Spinel still felt a little shaken, but Steven was trying so hard, she felt bad for being so rude. "…Thank you," she said with a sincere smile.

Steven's heart jumped lightly when he saw the warm, soft expression in her eyes. She really was beautiful. Clearing his throat, he got to his feet, "Y-you're welcome. I should uh…see if I can start a fire." He was actually worried that he wouldn't be able to start one. He'd never started one without any matches and he didn't want to embarrass himself in front of Spinel. After all, he promised to save her and how much faith would she have in a guy that couldn't even start a fire?

Spinel drank some of the water as she watched Steven gather the firewood he had collected. She knew there a lot of terrible humans, but how many of them were like Steven? He must have been the only one. He had to be.  
"…Well if you can't start one, I definitely can't," Spinel tried to joke.

Steven laughed as he piled up the wood, "I guess there aren't many fires in the ocean, huh?"

"Not so much," Spinel replied, giggling a bit despite her attempt to keep her guard up.

Steven was once again taken aback. His grin widened. Maybe she was warming up a little sooner than he thought. The atmosphere felt much lighter and even though it took Steven more tries than he would have liked, he was finally able to start the fire just in time for the sun to go down.

"Well, what do you know, looks like I **can **start a fire. …after…seven or eight attempts…." He trailed off, taking the blanket and Connie's book from the supplies they had. He handed the blanket to Spinel and sat in front of the fire with Connie's book. Not only was it an old book about mermaids, (that Connie had no doubt gotten at some antique store,) but Connie had stuffed a lot of notes inside of it, most of which she had clearly written in a hurry. Steven smiled sadly. He could just imagine his friend frantically trying to write down everything she knew that might help them. She did so much for them in such a short time. Slowly flipping through Connie's notes, he saw the map that Connie mentioned. It was pretty messily drawn and the notes around it didn't make much sense. She must have only written down some key words. Steven read them aloud, hoping that would help him make sense of it. "Underground. Capital. Experimental. Peridot. …I'm not sure how these go together."

"Did you say…Peridot?" Spinel asked, scooting herself a little closer to Steven, trying to take a peek at the book.

Steven lowered the book and closed the distance between them. It was harder for Spinel to move on the ground, so he wanted to make it easier if he could. "Yeah, in these notes that Connie wrote down. She said the woman that might be able to help us is a couple of towns over. She drew this map, but she doesn't mention a name, just these random words around the map."

"Peridot **IS **a name!" Spinel exclaimed with an excited smile. "Does it mention her anywhere else?!"

Steven felt a little pressured now, thumbing through Connie's notes as quickly as he could.  
"uuuuh…oh! Right here!" He pulled out a piece of paper that was surely crumpled up before, but had been smoothed out. Again, it was a bunch words that didn't seem to connect. Once again, he read them aloud, this time for Spinel who was practically digging her fingers into his arm in anticipation.  
"Peridot. Lost. Capital. Off Color. Legend. Lapis."

Spinel stared at the notes, nearly hugging Steven's arm now. Her heart was racing. After all these years, she didn't think she would hear those names ever again. Peridot could have been a mistake, but when she heard the name Lapis in there too, there wasn't any doubt.

"They could still be alive…" Spinel whispered.

"What?"

"My friends! Peridot and Lapis Lazuli! Those names are names of Mermaids that disappeared a long time ago! Your friend can't be more than, what, 15 years old?! If she heard about them in her lifetime, there's a chance that they're still alive!"

This was the first time that Steven had seen Spinel so genuinely happy and hopeful.  
"Well, Peridot's name was written on that map that Connie drew down. Maybe that means we can find more information about her when we find that mystery woman." Steven suggested, doing hoping to add to her new mood.

"I hope so…" she whispered with a smile. "Lapis was caught by humans during the war. Peridot was her mate. After the war ended, we thought the humans had killed Lapis, but Peridot insisted she was alive and said she wouldn't stop until she found her. …When Peridot never came back…we assumed the humans had caught and killed her too…" Spinel explained sadly. "…but if their names are still known to humans, maybe…there's some hope."

"All mermaids are taken to the capital for the royal family. No one really knows what they do with them there. …So you never know. I we can find your friends, we can get you guys home together." Steven added with a smile.

"You're strong, Steven, but I don't think even **you** can carry three mermaids on your shoulders while running from the entire royal army." It was meant to be a joke, but when Spinel looked at his face, he wasn't laughing. Instead, it almost appeared that he had stars in his eyes as he stared at her.

"You said my name," he stated.

"Huh? Well…yeah?"

"Up until now you've only said 'you' or 'idiot.' This is the first time you said my name." He explained further, overjoyed by this outcome. They had taken so many steps today. "Does this mean you trust me a little?" He asked, mostly to tease her.

Spinel blushed, just now realizing that she was still holding his arm. Removing her hands, she hugged her tail to herself in an attempt to hide her face. "J-just get some sleep so we can get to that mystery woman. We'll sleep in shifts…so I'll take the first watch."

The grin didn't leave Steven's face, but he didn't want to push his luck, instead, he leaned over and kissed Spinel on the cheek before laying himself down on the grass.  
"You're the boss," he replied as he closed his eyes with a smile.

Spinel sat there, completely shocked still. She brought her hand to her cheek, feeling the heat from her flushed face. "Y-You—" Spinel stammered in embarrassment, while Steven simple chuckled happily.


	4. An Off Colored Hand

**Chapter Four: An Off Colored Hand**

As Dawn broke, the suns light peeked through the cover of the trees, hitting Steven's face and forcing him awake. He was about to sit when he felt something pressing down on his chest. It was Spinel. The mermaid had somehow made her way over to him in the middle of the night, perhaps to share the blanket that he'd given her? She was resting her head against his chest; their bodies rather close with the blanket draped over both of them. Steven stared down at her, unable to keep the blush from his cheeks. She must have been facing him before falling asleep, because he could clearly see her face. He called her beautiful when he first saw her and commented rather easily on her looks since then, but now he felt a little embarrassed about it. Seeing her sleeping face, he was reminded once again, just how lovely she was. Were all mermaids like this?

He didn't want to disturb her sleep if he didn't have to. Instead, he looked around their little camp. The fire had long since died out and though Spinel said they would take shifts on keeping watch, but she had clearly fallen asleep rather than waking him for his shift. That was a little dangerous, but at least no one had come looking for them that night.

"Spinel…" Steven began quietly, gently shaking her shoulder.

The mermaid shifted lightly in her sleep, her eyes fluttering open to see Steven looking down at her with a smile. At first, Spinel was confused, until she heard his heart beating against her ear. She was laying on his chest? Quickly pushing herself from him with reddened cheeks.

"Good morning," Steven chuckled. "Did you sleep well?"

Spinel panicked internally, trying to remember how this happened. Mermaids didn't usually have to sleep much, but being out of the water made her weak. Though she had hoped to keep the first watch last night, she remembered feeling more tired than usual. She'd felt bad for using the only blanket on her own, so she dragged herself to Steven's side and was in the process of placing the blanket over him until she noticed the peaceful expression on his face while he slept. Smiling just a bit, Spinel leaned over to get a better look. After a moment, she found herself resting her head against his chest as she watched him sleep, being slowly lulled to sleep by the calming sound of his heartbeat.  
The mermaid covered her cheeks in a bashful panic. How had she let herself get so close? She never thought she'd feel so calm and comfortable around a human. Was it because he had helped her?

"U-Um yes—Good morning," stammered Spinel, slapping her cheeks lightly to try and come to her senses.

Steven got to his with a smirk and started to gather their things. "We should hurry along. If that woman is in the next couple of towns, than we have a long way to go." He explained, rolling the wheelchair over to her side.  
"Hopefully we will come across a lake or something on the way. It's the middle of summer and I'm sure you're not feeling well."

Scooping Spinel up in his arms, Steven placed her in the wheelchair, put the blanket over her tail, and handed her the cloak so that she cover her fish-like features.

"…that's true…" Spinel replied, no longer too embarrassed when Steven had to pick her up. After all, it's not like she could walk on her own.  
"How long do you think it will take to get to that town mentioned on the map?"

"A couple of days, unless we can find a faster way to travel, but I don't think we're likely to hitch a ride with someone."

Steven handed Spinel their bag of supplies and lifted the chair up over his head with her in it, startling Spinel once again. "Wh-whoa! At least warn me before you do that!" Spinel exclaimed as she clung to the arms of the chair, not all too keen on heights.

Once they were back on the path, Steven set the chair down and set off through the woods again. Steven started to wonder if it wouldn't have been better to simply travel at night. Surely it would be more comfortable for Spinel rather than trudging on through the heat of the day and they still had such a long way to go. Though it was unlikely, Steven hoped that he could find some faster way to get her where she needed to go.  
Hours went by peacefully, Spinel had actually fallen back to sleep in the chair, leading Steven to believe that she was weaker than she let on. How could she not be? She hadn't been properly submerged in water in a while and she didn't get much time in the tub before they had to run off. Drinking water probably helped a bit, but it could only do so much. As he rolled her along, Steven began to hear footsteps and immediately panicked. There was only one path through this forest, so unless he wanted to dart behind some more thorn bushes, he would have to remain as calm as possible. Luckily, Spinel was asleep because he worried she might try to fight rather than hide. Steadying his breath, Steven tightened his grip on the handles of the chair and pushed on, hoping he could pass Spinel off as just a sick human.

Preparing himself for the worst, Steven saw the stranger step out from a circle of trees and was relieved beyond words when what walked out looked to be a little girl. Though he did question what a little girl would be doing out here in the forest alone. These woods weren't exactly safe with the crystal creatures that roamed around. As harmless as the little girl seemed, she appeared to be heading straight for them. Steven tried to pretend he didn't notice her at all, but that was impossible once the child firmly placed herself in his path. Steven stopped, unsure how to handle this.  
"…Uh…excuse me? Could we…pass," he asked awkwardly, glancing around and hoping she had parents nearby. Though he was starting to worry if she could even see him; the child's bangs completely covered her eyes. What's more, the girl had a dull orange color to her hair and what appeared to be some sort of jewel stuck to the top of her right hand.

"You are going to meet someone new in the forest," the little girl said with a smile.

A hushed whisper came from the trees, "who let her go out there alone?"

Steven was immediately alarmed upon hearing another voice. Were they trying to surround him? He was sure to be faster on his feet than if he were pushing a chair which might get stuck in a hole or something. Trying to remain calm, he released his grip on the chairs handles and readied himself to grab Spinel and run.

"Wait," another hushed voice called out. This time, a head peeked out from the shadows of the trees. It was a woman. She had big dark eyes and red hair, waving a single hand as if beckoning Steven to follow her. "We're here to help. Guards have entered the forest, follow us, we'll get you out."

Steven wasn't sure whether or not to trust this woman. How did she even know they needed help? Could they tell Spinel was a Mermaid? He thought he had covered everything fish-like pretty well.  
"What makes you think we need help…?" asked Steven cautiously.

"You wouldn't have entered this forest if you didn't need help," the woman whispered again. "Please, your mermaid friend won't last much longer. Follow us."

Looking down at Spinel, he could see her troubled expression just beneath the hood. She looked feverish again. It had to have been the heat. Though they were under the cover of the trees it was still the middle of summer and she was covered in a blanket of all things. Steven battled with himself on what to do, but when he began to hear more footsteps coming up the path, he lost the luxury of caution. Without losing any more time, he scooped Spinel from the chair and ran after the woman that had faded into the shadows of the trees. He could barely see the woman at first, until a small orange light appeared beside him. It was the little girl. She was running at his side and the gem on her hand was glowing gently. It wasn't enough to completely light the way, but enough to see the path beneath his feet. This is why there was only one way through the forest. If anyone strayed from that main path, the forest became a maze and was completely devoid of light. It's where the most dangerous creatures lived. There was no way the guards would follow them in here, right? Even Steven was questioning himself for following these people. They could just as easily leave him in the dark to die.  
Still, he continued to follow the orange light, he wasn't sure how long they had been rushing through the trees until the darkness was suddenly parted by a soft light.

In front of him now, was a glittering lake, shining gently from the reflection of small blue orbs that hovered from the trees above. The light that reflected off the water was enough for Steven to get a better look at the woman he had been following. As it turned out, it was two women, just conjoined at the hip. They appeared to be twins, their bodies stuck together; sharing a single pair of legs and each torso only had one arm. Though Steven was a little alarmed, he simply stared at the women in silence, more concerned about why they led him to this place.  
"…You're not going to hurt her," he asked quietly, holding Spinel close.

"Of course not," the girl on the left side answered. "We meant what we said; we just wanted to help you. Come, you should get her into the water. She needs to heal." They walked over to the edge of the water and stepped back, giving Steven space so he would feel safer.

That much was true. Spinel was breathing heavily and she felt warm. He was sure that Mermaids were not supposed to be this hot to the touch. He removed her cloak and took the blanket from her tail before kneeling down at the edge of the lake.  
"Spinel…" Steven began softly, brushing the hair from her face in an attempt to wake her. He didn't want to just plop her in the water without warning. When her eyes fluttered open slowly, he smiled down at her.  
"We're near a lake. I'm going to put you in the water, okay?"

Spinel was having trouble breathing, but she seemed to understand him. She nodded her head slightly in reply and Steven slowly placed her into the water. He watched intently as she went under, worrying for a minute that he should have made sure she was more awake. Or perhaps she was too weak after all. Anxiously, he waited for her to resurface, but when the water remained still, he stood up to jump in after her.

"Hold on," one of the twins urged as she placed her hand on his shoulder to stop him.

"What if she needs—"

Before Steven could finish protesting, Spinel's head surfaced slightly, and her magenta colored eyes shined brightly against dimly lit water. Steven didn't think it was possible; she was even more captivating as she peered up at him from the water.

"Ar-Are you okay?" he asked in concern.

Spinel came up a little more, just enough for the water to come up to her shoulders. Smiling, she nodded her head, still feeling a little weak, but being completely submerged in water was a big help.  
"Yes. …who are these people…?" she asked, swimming up to the edge of the lake where Steven was kneeling.

Steven glanced behind him, unable to answer that question. This had all happened on a whim. He hadn't had the chance to ask anyone their names.  
"We are the Rutile twins," the conjoined women answered together. The twin on the right pointed to the child now, "and this is Padparadscha. She was the one who told us you had entered the forest. …although…her prediction was a little late, so we couldn't get you until you had already been here for a while."

"And why would you come to get us?" Spinel asked, not just worried for herself anymore. Steven also stood to be punished or even killed if they were caught by the wrong people. "Wait. Rutile…and Padparadscha," Spinel repeated, "are those names…"

Padparadscha walked silently into the water without stopping. The gem on her hand began to glow again and the legs beneath her dress vanished in an orange light, replaced at once with the tail of a mermaid. Scales on her hands became visible and she moved her bangs to uncover a large, singular eye beneath them.  
Spinel and Steven stared silently at the child, amazed that she had gone from appearing human to becoming a mermaid before their eyes. Steven noted that Spinel seemed to be equally stunned by this. So it wasn't just something mermaids could do.

"What is going on here," Spinel asked as Padparadscha swam over to her with a smile. "How did she do that and who are you people?"

"Who are we?" rang a young man's voice as he stepped out of the shadows and into the dim lighting from the lake. The young man had stretched earlobes, a wavy, light pink Mohawk at the top of his head, a scar that ran down over his right eye, and he wore a rather large black cloak that almost made him look like a pirate captain. Even with these odd features, the most noticeable thing about him was the bright pink hue of his skin.  
"We're the Off Colors. I'm Captain Lars' and we're your only shot at getting out of this forest."


	5. A Gem for a Mermaid

**Chapter Five: A Gem for a Mermaid**

Steven and Spinel stared up at Lars as he introduced himself. This was all a little much. Spinel had never heard of Mermaids walking around on land like that. Though admittedly, she had been alone for a long time. What if some of them found a way and she just didn't know about it? Still, it wasn't in her nature to trust anyone right away. At least not anymore.

"Now what I'm interested in, is you two," Lars continued, walking over to Steven and Spinel, kneeling down so that he was eye level with both of them. "We've seen mermaids all over the place, but this is the first time we've seen one with a human. So tell me, were you trying to help this mermaid, or were you planning on selling her to the highest bidder?"

"Wh-of course I wasn't going to sell her!" Steven insisted, gripping Spinel's hand a bit. "I'm trying to get her home."

"Well you picked a hell of a complicated good deed, kid. Getting a mermaid back to the ocean is much harder than you think." Lars stood up and looked back at the Rutile twins. They nodded and waved down Padparadscha to get out of the water. Without a word, the small Mermaid lifting herself onto the shore and once her tail was out of the water, it separated into two legs. Her fish-like features had vanished, leaving her to look like a human child once again as she followed after Rutile back into the dark of the woods.

"I promised her I would get her home. So that's what I'm going to do," Steven said evenly.

"What exactly is going on here?" Spinel asked finally, getting a little impatient with all the questions she had. "How did that mermaid grow legs? Are you all Mermaids that just look human?"

"Not all of us. I'm human. Well, mostly human. My life was saved by a mermaid once and as a result, I look like this," Lars explained while gesturing to his pink skin and hair. "Though it's not without its perks," he admitted with a shrug. "You're right though, the rest of us are all Mermaids that just happen to look human. Well…mostly human."

"What about those girls…the ones with one pair of legs. I've never seen a Mermaid like that," spinel remarked. She was sure it sounded rude, but she wanted to make sure and ask while they weren't here.

"The twins? Oh, well…that's a long story and not really one for me to tell, but I promise you they're harmless. At least to you. Now, if you want to know how they make themselves look human, why don't you join us all back at our little hideout. Even if it would be hard to get here for a human, staying around any body of water is pretty dangerous when hiding Mermaids. It's the first place they look."

Spinel wasn't so sure. She was reluctant to leave the water after so long and it wasn't just herself she was worried about anymore. Technically, Steven was a traitor to his people now. Anyone who caught him would get a big reward as well. She looked up at Steven, "what do you think, can we trust them?"

Steven smiled and released her hand to extend his arms towards her, "I'll do whatever you think is best, but I don't think they plan to hurt us."

Spinel blushed and glanced away as she held out her arms as well, waiting bashfully for him to lift her from the water. She hated this. It made her feel like a child being picked up by a parent. "Fine…but if it turns out we have to fight, I'm not stopping just because you say so."

With that, Steven held Spinel up from the water and turned to Lars, allowing him to lead them back into the dark of the forest. Lars didn't seem to have a jewel like the others, so he lit their way with a small handheld crystal. They walked for quite some time before reaching another small clearing, but despite Lars' announcement that they had arrived, Steven and Spinel couldn't help but notice that there was nothing in this small field. Even so, Lars urged them to follow him further.

"Open it up," Lars ordered with a smile, speaking into something attached to his rather large collar. It wasn't long after that, a large door opened up, revealing that the empty space was just an illusion to hide a small dome that already had several tents set up inside of it. The twins and Padparadscha were headed into one of the larger tents and it's to that tent that Lars led them.  
"So, what're your names?" Lars asked, sitting himself in a chair while two more were being placed down by the twins for Steven and Spinel.

"My name is Steven," he replied as he placed Spinel down into a chair carefully, deciding he would rather stand beside her chair rather than sit in his own. That way, he'd be ready to grab her and run if something happened.

"…I'm Spinel," she answered finally.

"Spinel," Lars repeated, "that's a bit rare, but I'm sure we can find it."

"What?" asked Spinel, completely confused now.

"You wanted to know how they can walk around like humans. Well this is how," Lars began to explain, pointing to Rutile twins and the conjoined gem over their stomach. Turns out, it's not a coincidence that Mermaids are named after precious stones and metals you can find all over the globe. If you infuse those stones with a bit of magic, Mermaids can take on human form and walk on land and when back in the water, they revert to mermaids without any effort."

"So…if I had one of those, I could walk on my own?" asked Spinel hopefully. This way, she wouldn't need to burden Steven with constantly carrying her around and she wouldn't be so helpless when and if they ran into any trouble.

Lars nodded, "yeah, but it's not without its drawbacks. Once the gem fuses with your body, it becomes a part of you. It will give you the advantage of walking on land, but in return, you will become a bit more human. You'll need to eat and sleep when you have legs. It also will become your biggest weakness."

"Weakness?" reapeted Steven in concern. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"A mermaid can withstand a lot of beatings, but Gems can't. Once the Gem infuses into your body, it will be thing you have to protect the most, because if that Gem shatters or gets broken…you'll die with it," the right Rutile twin explained. "The problem is also…you don't get to choose where the Gem is exposed. It vanishes into your body and surfaces where it feels it belongs. …and the process of infusing your body with a Gem is terribly painful."

"So it's basically like putting a target on her?!" asked Steven incredulously. "People already want to hurt her just for being a Mermaid."

"That's right," answered Lars. "Also, though this will be a disguise to the general populace, the royal capital and guards are well aware of the Gems. So if they catch you, they will know exactly how to kill you. There's also the problem that you can't completely cover the gem. In a sense, it needs to breath. You can cover most of it, but not the whole things or you'll be very uncomfortable."

"This doesn't sound like it would help too much," Steven insisted, too reluctant to put an easily broken target on Spinel. Especially when they had no idea where that target would be on her.

"I know it might sound bad at first, but it really is the best way to avoid being caught by humans," the left twin urged. "We just needed to tell you the downside first so you could make an informed choice. We've helped a lot of other Mermaids by giving them these. Some of them are living as humans in hiding thanks to these."

Spinel didn't like all of it, but the biggest selling point was that she could make herself a bit more useful. Having a fish tail on land wasn't going to get them anywhere. If anything, it was just going to get them killed sooner or later. Steven was strong, but if he had to carry her during her a fight, they'd both end up on the ground. "I'll take it," she said finally.

"Wha-are you sure?" asked Steven anxiously. "She said it was painful and what if the Gem ends up somewhere too noticeable?"

"We'll cover way more ground if I can walk with you. Also, we can travel on the main roads since people will think I'm human. It's too beneficial to pass up. I can deal with a little pain if it means I won't be a burden."

Steven was still concerned, "does every mermaid you come across take a gem? Have you ever seen a gem get shattered?"

"Not every mermaid takes the offer. They said taking the form of a human was disgusting, but they didn't last long on their own," answered Lars, "and I have only seen one Mermaid die when their gem was shattered. It's…not a pretty sight. Still, we know this is the best tool for a mermaid's survival. It's why we do what we do. Our Benefactors acquires these gems and sends us out all over the place to offer them to any Mermaid we catch wind of."

"and who are your benefactors?" asked Spinel.

"You may have already heard rumors about them. A small group of Mermaids that are organizing an underground resistance against the royal capital," the right Rutile twin replied. "We can't give too much information about them, but the one that we work with directly is named Peridot. She brings us the gems that they've mixed with the magic we need to make them useful."

"Peridot," Spinel repeated with an excited smile. "I-I know her! Can I see her?!"

"She's not here, but she'll show up to give us your gem if you accept it. She's the one in charge of the procedure," answered Lars.

"I'll take a Gem. I don't see much of a downside," Spinel announced with more determination than before. She'd get an advantage on land and a chance to see a friend that she'd presumed dead for centuries.

Lars smiled, "Good to hear. We'll get you a place to sleep and send word to our friends. Outside the tent, Rhodonite will take you to your own tent and get you some water. I'll let you know when we hear back from Peridot."

Spinel nodded and a still unconvinced Steven scooped her up with concerned groan. He didn't think these people were going to hurt them, but this Gem deal left a painful pit in his stomach. Spinel seemed excited about it now, but he didn't know if that was a good thing. When Steven and Spinel were out of the tent, the Rutile twins turned to Lars.

"What do you think, Captain? Can we trust them? This is the first time we've gotten another human involved. Is it safe for him to hear so much about our plans?"

Lars stared at the chair Spinel had been sitting in, thinking for a moment before he replied, "we'll keep an eye on the human kid. There's something about him that I want to confirm."

The Rutile twins laughed lightly together, "You called him a human as if you're not a human yourself. That's a bad habit, Captain."

"Come on guys," Lars started with a sigh, "you know I haven't felt like a human in over one thousand years."


	6. Thank You

**Chapter Six: Thank You**

Spinel and Steven had settled in the tent that was set up for them. Their supplies had been brought from the lake and Spinel was sitting in this small inflatable pool that they had given them. It must have been how the other mermaids handled being on land like this.

"These are pretty convenient," Spinel commented as she laid herself back in the shallow water.

Though Spinel seemed content, Steven couldn't quite calm down. These people didn't seem bad at all, but he had a sinking feeling about these Gems they spoke of. Pacing the floor of the tent, he tried to think of some way to talk Spinel out of it.

"You don't have to worry so much. If this is something Peridot came up with, I'm sure it's not as bad as they described it."

"They said it's like a big target," Steven replied. "If that Gem happens to break, you'll die. Doesn't that scare you?"

Spinel sat up, her tail swishing lightly against the water.  
"I guess…it's a little worrisome, but what's the alternative? You can't just carry me all over the place. It will make travel so much easier if I can walk too. I think it's worth the risk."

"…if you say so," Steven replied with a long sigh. His main concern had been Spinel's safety all this time. He just wanted to make sure she remained unharmed during this journey, but Lars was right, he hadn't thought this completely through. He didn't think about all the security they had near the shores or the ships they had out in the water to watch for Mermaids. In his small little beach village, they didn't get much mainstream news. Spinel coming to town was the biggest thing to happen there in a long time and the only reason they used that harbor was because the ship couldn't travel further in with the supplies they had.  
"…Well, they said it might take Peridot a little while to get here. …were you two close?"

Spinel flinched lightly, she only just now thought about it, but what if Peridot wasn't happy to see her?  
"…Not too close. She was a part of a different tribe, but when everyone joined together for the war, that's when I met her and Lapis."

"If you two weren't that close…how do you know this Gem thing of hers is really a good idea?"

"Why are you so against this?" asked Spinel. "I'm the one taking all the risk here."

Steven's cheeks burned lightly, "I'm just worried about you. They said the transformation into a human is pretty painful as well."

Spinel stared up at Steven with a blank expression before she found herself stifling a laugh.

"It's not funny," Steven insisted, more embarrassed now than before, "I just don't want you-"

"—No, no. I'm not laughing at you," Spinel corrected with a smile and a wave of her hand, "it's just, you're the first one, human or mermaid that has shown so much loyalty so fast. I laughed because I was surprised at myself and because you're still surprising me." She finished with a giggle.

"…what do you mean," asked Steven, rubbing the back of his neck as he glanced away from her. Her cheerful expression only making the blush at his cheeks burn brighter.

"I believe I said it many times before, but you're a strange one. You gave up your entire way of living for a complete stranger. You became a criminal…ensuring that you'll never lead a normal life again…and you're still just thinking about my safety. You're a complete idiot…" Spinel muttered at the end.

Steven sighed and sat down beside the small pool she sat in, "You know…" he began, as if they were about to argue.

"...and I never thanked you for any of it," continued Spinel quietly.

Surprised, Steven glanced at Spinel, who seemed rather embarrassed, hugging her tail close to her chest and averting her eyes from Steven, hoping he wouldn't see her reddened cheeks.

"…So…even though I still think you made a stupid choice. ...I…want to thank you for making it." Spinel finished, daring to turn her gaze towards Steven. He appeared dumbfounded by her words and said nothing in return.  
"I mean—it's not much," Spinel went on, feeling like a fool, "but I can't offer you anything else. So—so my gratitude will have to do."

Steven was honestly stunned to silence. He never expected Spinel to thank him so sincerely. At least, not this soon. He couldn't help but smile, watching Spinel trying to hide her blushing face. She reminded him of a stray cat he once found. At first it would scratch and hiss at him, but it was so cute that he just couldn't leave it alone.  
"Your gratitude is **more** than enough," he replied finally, leaning over and wrapping his arms around Spinel's shoulders as she continued to hug her tail. It seemed that they were finally becoming friends and Steven was overjoyed by the prospect.

Spinel was only able to make a small squeak as Steven hugged her, frozen in place over the shock of it. How long had it been since anyone hugged her so happily?

"Am I interrupting something?" asked Lars with a smirk as he stood at the entrance to their tent.

"Yes," Steven joked while Spinel panicked and shook her head rapidly.

"Can we talk for a sec? I'd like to show you something," continued Lars as he waved Steven over.

Though Steven let go of Spinel, he stayed in place sitting next to her. "You can't talk to me here?" It wasn't that he thought Lars was going to hurt Spinel. They'd done nothing but help them so far, he just didn't really like leaving her alone.

"Go on," Spinel insisted, eager for a chance to calm down on her own. "I'll be fine as long as I'm in the water."

Steven sighed a bit and got to his feet. He was still hesitant, but he didn't want to be too overprotective. Lars smiled and led Steven from the tent, leaving a Spinel alone to watch their backs as they walked away. When she was sure they had gone, the mermaid brought both her hands to her cheeks, panicking internally as she held back the urge to scream. That was so embarrassing she didn't know how to react properly. This human was honest, kind, and seemed completely unabashed when it came to showing affection. How was she supposed to deal with a human like that?

"You and that human seem rather close…" one of the Rutile twins commented as they stepped inside the tent, "…we wanted to ask you a few questions about him if you don't mind…"

While Rutile was attempting to have a conversation with Spinel, Steven had followed Lars back to his tent, but while Lars said he wanted a word, he hadn't said anything on the walk there.  
"So, what is that you wanted to talk about?" asked Steven finally, becoming a little impatient.

"You were pretty cut up by all those thorns in the woods before," began Lars, "but the scratches I saw when you first got here are gone now."

"…yeah? I've always been a pretty fast healer."

"And carrying a mermaid? That's an easy task for you? I was told you carried her all the way to the lake and I even watched you carry her to camp. A Mermaids tail is pure muscle you know. It makes them pretty heavy."

"Did you ask me here to just state facts about me?"

"Do you know what they do at the Capital," asked Lars, disregarding Stevens question. "They don't capture Mermaids just to put them in a Zoo. They experiment on them."

Steven tensed up. People were experimenting on the Mermaids?  
"…how…"

"You saw one of the members of my crew, right? The Rutile twins. You may have noticed that they're sort of _joined at the hip_. Well they weren't always that way. They were just a pair of twin Mermaids that got caught before they were brought to the capital. I don't know what the humans were trying to do, but the end result…was having the twins stuck together like that. That little Mermaid you saw? Padparadscha. She was also used as a learning tool for the humans. Her specific type of Mermaid are adapt at predicting the future. The humans were probably trying to extract that skill from her, but the experiments damaged her beyond repair. Now, the visions she sees are things that have already happened. As if she's a few steps behind everyone in time."

"…that's…horrible…" Steven breathed out, unable to imagine going through something so awful. Who knows how long they were tortured at the hands of human beings.

"It is," agreed Lars, "which is why I promised my crew they would never be caught or used by humans again."

Steven suddenly realized where Lars was going with this and he deflated.  
"…I'm not gonna—"

"So here's the thing," Lars continued without allowing Steven to finish. "You should go back to your home. Tell the authorities that the Mermaid enchanted you or something. You'll be questioned for a few days, but eventually they will let you go and everything will go back to normal for you. You won't be a criminal anymore and we'll even give you money for your trouble."

"You guys may not trust me because I'm human, but I'm not going to leave Spinel alone," insisted Steven.

"She won't be alone. She'll stay with us and her own kind. You won't need to worry about her anymore."

Steven thought for a moment. Would Spinel be happier that way? She did seem a lot more comfortable now that they found other Mermaids and an old friend was even on her way.  
"If Spinel doesn't want me around, she can tell me that herself. Until then, I'm going to stick with her."

Lars didn't seem surprised by Steven's reply; instead, he shrugged his shoulders with a sigh.  
"Fine, but it's like you said, you're a human. You've already seen a lot and if you keep traveling with Spinel, you'll learn even more about the Mermaids that might potentially harm others if you suddenly decide it's too much trouble. I don't think you're a bad kid, but there's a lot at stake here. So, if you really want to keep going…I'm going to have to insist that you **prove **yourself."

"Prove myself, how?"

"It's going to sound a little extreme, but we don't have any other way to make sure you won't betray us," began Lars, "it's a spell, something like a contract. If you agree to it, there really won't be a chance to turn back."

Steven wasn't sure what kind of spell this was going to be, but he was certain if he didn't agree to it, Lars and his crew would most likely force him to leave Spinel somehow. "Fine, tell me what I have to do."


	7. Too Much

**Chapter Seven: Too Much**

With Steven and Lars gone from the tent, Spinel was left with the Rutile twins, who had asked to speak with her.

"Do you honestly believe that human can be trusted?" asked the left Rutile twin, sitting themselves down beside the small, plastic pool that Spinel occupied.

"…" Spinel hesitated for a moment. If they had asked her this just a few days ago, the answer would be different for sure. However, Steven had gone through so much in order to keep her safe and he was asking for nothing in return. Though she hated to admit it about any human, Steven appeared to be sincere. "…I don't know about trust exactly, but Steven is quite different from the humans I've met before."

"A lot of Mermaids have said the same in the past and they have all since been betrayed."

This struck a chord with Spinel. A chill ran up her spine and she suddenly felt cold.  
"What's your point?" snapped Spinel, losing her patience now. She didn't like remembering the past. It wasn't just the memories that upset her, it was the fact that she actually felt the same bracing cold as back then every time she recalled it.

"Our point is just that. You don't have to stay with the Human anymore. You can come with us and our captain. There's no need to put your trust in a human that might betray you for a bag of gold. It might take us a little longer to get you home, but at least you won't have to question our loyalty."

Spinel listened silently, not surprised by the offer, but surprised that she was so reluctant to take it. The choice should have been easy. Between a human and her own kind, it shouldn't have been a question who she could trust more. Still, Steven had done nothing to make her think he would betray her. He'd been kind. Too kind. Honestly, it reminded Spinel of how she used to be.  
"...I said I would accept your help when it came to offering a Gem, but…Steven made himself a criminal to help me. Leaving him alone now…would mean leaving him to face the consequences alone as well. It doesn't seem right to-"

"—no need to say more," the right Rutile twin interrupted with a small smile. "Our Captain just wanted to make sure that you two had all your options. Your Human is being offered a way back home as we speak. He'll either take our Captains offer, return to his human life, or he'll agree to a binding spell."

Spinel felt her heart sink to her stomach. "A binding spell? Why go so far?!"

"You think we would allow him to see all this and just let him go? Even if he takes the gold and goes home, we have a plan for that too."

Spinel wasn't sure how to feel all of a sudden. If Steven took the chance to go home like he should have, she'd feel like a fool for saying she'd stay with him. If he ended up agreeing to take part in a binding spell, she'd want to hit him for being so stupid. "Is your Captain going to explain what that kind of contract can do? Because Steven might actually agree to something like that without knowing—"

"—he explained it all, don't worry," breathed Steven as he entered the tent. His face was flushed and dark circles plagued his tired eyes.

The moment she saw his haggard appearance, Spinel flared up, nearly spilling over the small pool as she leaned at the edge. "What did you do," demanded Spinel, an awful mix of emotion surging inside her heart. A part of her was relieved that Steven had decided to stay with her, but she was angry he would choose to do something like this. This man was too kind for his own good.  
"You—you had a chance to go home and yet you bound yourself by contract with terms made by people you don't know?! Why are you such an—"

"—yeah, I know, I'm an idiot…" sighed Steven with a tired smile. "…could you maybe yell at me about it after I take a nap? I'm a little tired…"

The Rutile twins seemed satisfied with how things had played out. They stood and helped Steven stagger to the blankets that were set up in the tent for him. Once he was lying on the blankets, she left a small bag beside him and turned for the door. "There are some sweets in that bag. You'll need the sugar with all the blood you've lost. …if it means anything…we think you made the right choice," said Rutile before leaving the tent so that Steven could rest.

Spinel stared helplessly at Steven as he did his best to breathe evenly, clearly uncomfortable. Was he in pain? She opened her mouth to speak, but thought better of it and instead, lifted herself from the pool, swinging her tail over the side.

Steven glanced over while Spinel slowly scooted herself to his bedside.  
"What are you doing?" he asked quietly, making an attempt to sit up, only to be pushed back down as Spinel pressed her hand against his chest.

"Just lay down," she insisted, looking him over for a moment before she grabbed the small bag Rutile had left and pulled out some of the chocolate inside. "Here…" she offered, holding the treat next to his mouth.

No matter how exhausted he was, Steven couldn't help feeling nervous, his cheeks flushing as Spinel offered to feed him. "You don-"

"—just open your mouth," demanded Spinel with a blush. It was humiliating enough without him mentioning it.

Still rather shocked she even offered this, he did as he was told and Spinel placed the piece of chocolate into his mouth.  
"…you didn't have to go so far," she began while Steven ate. "...it must have hurt. …and look at you, you're completely exhausted."

"It's not as bad as it looks. I'm just tired," replied Steven as Spinel slipped another piece of chocolate into his mouth.

"They went overboard," she commented bitterly. "A binding spell doesn't require enough blood to make you like this. That Captain clearly took more than they needed, I'm going to give him a piece of my mind when I see him again."

Steven shook his head, "you shouldn't say anything. They haven't given you your Gem yet. …we still need their help. Besides, I'm a fast healer, remember?"

Even now, Steven was being too kind for his own good. It only served to make Spinel angrier at the Captain for so blatantly taking advantage of his good nature. Why was he like this? Why was he willing to go so far for someone like her? Was it simply because she was a mermaid? Would he do all this if she were just another human girl?  
"…when you feel up to it, you'll tell me the terms of the contract, won't you?"

Steven nodded his head slowly, feeling a little guilty that he had worried her like this. However, it was necessary if he wanted the Off Colors to help her and still allow him to stick with her. It's not like he didn't understand. Mermaids were in danger every day, of course they had to be careful who they trusted. Giving up a little blood was a small price to offer them peace of mind. Though he couldn't call his motives completely selfless. He could have parted ways with Spinel here and she would probably be just fine with the Off Colors, surrounded by her own kind until she got back into the ocean water, but he wasn't ready to say goodbye just yet.

Spinel watched as Steven drifted off, glad that he was breathing easier now and seemed able to rest comfortably. With a sigh, she reached over and pulled a loose blanket over him to make sure he didn't get too cold. She still found his choices to be irrational and foolish, but she couldn't help smiling just a little. He had been given a pass to go home without consequences. He could have rid himself of all this trouble and gone back to his life. It's what he should have done. Anyone else would have. Yet he chose to stay with her. She shouldn't have been happy about it. It was selfish of her to want him to remain a criminal and abandon everything for her, so why did it make her heart swell beneath her chest?

Though it would have been more comfortable to go back into the little pool, Spinel decided to stay beside Steven. What if he woke up and needed something? He was feeling like this because of her after all, the least she could do is make sure he was alright. She hugged her tail to her chest once more; resting her head against the bend of it as she stared down at Steven's sleeping face.

As Spinel watched over Steven, Rutile was back in the Captains tent, also finding herself curious over the amount of blood that had been taken from Steven.

"Why did you need so much?" asked the right twin.

"Yeah, he looked like he was about to collapse when he came back to the tent," added the left.

"I need to look into something," Lars replied, "or rather; I need Peridot to look into something."

"You're gonna test it?" the twins asked together in surprise.

"That kid is different. I don't know how, but I don't think he's just another human. Either he's hiding something, or he doesn't know it himself. We need to know."

"…and you're basing this on the fact that he's strong and healed up quickly?" asked the right Rutile.

Lars nodded his head, "but there's more. Did you notice? I only caught it when he was lifting that Mermaid up from the chair earlier. …he doesn't have a bellybutton."

The twins looked at one another before glancing back at their Captain.  
"What do you think that means?" asked the right twin with genuine curiosity.

"I have a few theories, but I'm not jumping to any conclusions until I know for sure. Once Peridot gets here, we'll know for sure whether or not that kid is what he says he is."


	8. Becoming Human

**Chapter Eight: Becoming Human**

Steven woke up from his rest, feeling much better than when he closed his eyes. As he sat up with a yawn, he was pleasantly surprised to see Spinel sleeping at his bedside. She must have fallen asleep before she could return to the small pool. She really was just like that stray cat. He took the blanket that covered him and gently draped it over Spinel's slender frame. She looked so delicate while she was sleeping, how could anyone stomach hurting someone like her?

While Steven brushed a bit of hair from Spinel's face, a young woman peeked into the tent, startling him a bit. The girl simply stared at Steven and Spinel with a blank expression. Steven looked back at her, unsure what to do. It was someone he had never seen here before. She was rather short, with yellow hair that had been put up in a bun, but still seemed untidy. The yellow collared shirt she wore was a bit disheveled and didn't quite match with the brown and red checkered pants she had on. At least most of her untidy appearance was covered by the large white lab coat. Though the girl also wore large, yellow tinted goggles, Steven could clearly see the green, inverted triangle shaped Gem on her forehead. So this was another Mermaid?

"G-Good morning?" Steven greeted finally, hoping to break the awkward silence.

The girl narrowed her eyes as she continued to stare at Steven, not bothering to reply.

"You're Steven?" she asked as if she was expecting someone else.

"I am," he replied automatically.

"Huh. I see," muttered the strange young woman. "Wake your friend; I've brought the Gem for her."

"Wait, does that mean…you're Peridot?"

"Yes. I was sent here to help a Mermaid," answered Peridot simply. "So wake her up. This procedure is not going to be pleasant, I need to prepare her first."

Though Peridot turned to leave, Steven reached out, "W-wait! She's wanted to meet you; don't you want to be here when your friend wakes up?"

Peridot looked down at Spinel as she slept before glancing back at Steven.

"She's no friend of mine…" answered Peridot bitterly before she turned and walked away.

Steven stared at the entrance to the tent, a little confused. Spinel was looking forward to seeing her friend, but Peridot didn't seem to react at all when she saw her. Still, maybe that would change once they talked face to face? "Hey, Spinel?" Steven began, gently shaking her shoulder.

Spinel groaned a bit, but when she opened her eyes she saw Steven staring down at her. "Chocolate?!" she asked in a panic, unsure how long she had been asleep.

"No need, I feel much better," Steven replied with a laugh. "Thanks for looking after me."

Spinel sat up, anxiously tugging at one of her pigtails in embarrassment. "You're welcome…"

"Your friend Peridot is here," announced Steven. "She came in earlier to say that your Gem procedure would start soon and they wanted to prep you. …She uh…didn't seem too happy to see you though. …maybe she didn't recognize you."

Though Spinel smiled at first, her smile faded slowly and she sighed. "No, I'm sure she knew who I was…and I'm sure she wasn't happy to see me. I was excited to see her…because I just wanted confirmation she was alive."

"Why wouldn't she be happy to see you? Weren't you friends?"

"We…used to be. …but I once…trusted someone that made me lose all of my friends." Spinel admitted, pulling at both of her pigtails now.

Steven couldn't help but notice that she didn't quite elaborate on the subject, so he thought it better not to pry. He was already aware that Spinel had trouble trusting others, but he figured it was just because he was human. "Hey…I'm sure—"

"Are you ready?" Lars asked as he peeked into the tent, unaware the two were having a conversation. "Everything has been set up inside my tent."

Spinel was actually glad to have a distraction. She wasn't even sure why she'd mentioned anything about her past like that. He certainly didn't need to know what happened to her or what she did. "Yes, let's get this over with."

Steven didn't say anything before he lifted Spinel into his arms, following Lars from their tent and towards his own. He still wasn't too excited about Spinel receiving one of these Gems, but all he could do now was support her and hope his fears didn't come to pass.

Once they arrived, what Steven saw didn't make him feel any better about this. Things had been set up as if they were about to perform surgery.

Peridot was waiting beside a metal cot that had been rolled in, holding a large pink Gem in the shape of a heart. "Set her down and I'll explain what's going to happen," Peridot ordered simply.

Steven was terribly reluctant to do so, but he carried Spinel to the cot and placed her down carefully. "...can I stay here?" He asked, glancing over at Peridot. He didn't want to get in the way, but how could he leave when she was about to undergo something like this.

"That's fine. I've heard you're rather strong. I may need you to hold her down," answered Peridot as she grabbed a large syringe.

"Hold her down?" Repeated Steven, clearly becoming more and more anxious about this by the second. "Is this—"

"—she'll be in a lot of pain," interjected Peridot. "Her entire body will be changing. Growing new bones and limbs, fusing with the Gem as it becomes the core part of her body. So yes, this procedure is dangerous. Some Mermaids don't survive the transformation."

Steven breathed deep, trying not to panic, but failing as his brain began screaming that he should take Spinel and run. Spinel could see that Steven was losing his composure. Not that she cared for the words Peridot chose either. Reaching over, Spinel placed her hand on Steven's arm.

"I'll be fine," Spinel reassured.

Though Steven wasn't sure Spinel would want him to, he clasped both his hands around hers and nodded with a nervous smile. "Y-yeah. You'll be fine."

Spinel was once again surprised by Steven. The way he worried about her, it was as if she were something precious. In six thousand years, had anyone treated her this way?

"I see your trust in humans hasn't changed." Peridot chided bitterly.

Steven was taken aback by Peridot's words, but Spinel was not. If anything, it seemed she had expected it. What surprised Steven, even more, was that Spinel wasn't saying anything back. She just had this wounded look on her face.

"Hey, she-" though Steven felt the need to defend her, Spinel shook her head, hoping he wouldn't continue.

"Let's get started," Peridot stated as Lars and Rhodonite arrived to help.

All Steven could do was take a deep breath as the others prepared a few things. He didn't know how any of this was really going to work, but he wanted it to be over as soon as possible.

Spinel was also feeling a bit anxious about this. It was difficult not to now that the moment had arrived. Steven was right, this was terribly risky, but the end result was worth it. She'd be much less of a burden this way.

Peridot began by sticking Spinel in the tail with the syringe, which luckily didn't seem to hurt much. Next, she took the Gem in her hands and started reading from a piece of paper. Steven couldn't understand the words she used, but as she read them, a light flickered inside the Gem, getting brighter the more she repeated the spell. Once the Gem had lit up completely, Peridot placed it on Spinel's stomach. The anxious silence was broken the moment that Gem touched Spinel's skin and she began screaming out in pain.

"Spinel?!" Steven gasped out, gripping her hand tight.

The Gem appeared to be sinking into her stomach as if it were burning through her skin to melt into her. Rhodonite was already holding down Spinel's tail as the Mermaid squirmed in pain. Her screams were filling the tent and the more time went on, she couldn't keep still.

"Hold her shoulders down," demanded Peridot. "She needs to keep as still as possible."

Steven grit his teeth and quickly placed his hands on Spinel's shoulders to hold her down. He hated this. Looking back, he could see that the Gem had seeped its way into her body. He hoped that meant the worst was over, but to his dismay, it only seemed to get worse from there. Spinel's entire body began to convulse, her eyes wide as she screamed even louder. Tears poured from her eyes as her body rocked against the cot in an attempt to either reject or accept the Gem that entered her.

"How long is this gonna take?!" Shouted Steven over Spinel's screams.

"The worst is almost over," Lars shouted back.

Spinel was gasping for breath, as her entire body burned her. It was like something was crushing all of her bones from the inside and setting them ablaze. The pain was almost too much to take and she kept praying that she would simply pass out, but it didn't seem she would be so lucky. Though Spinel couldn't see it, Steven was watching her body change slowly. Her pink skin was turning a light peach hue, her scales were slowly disappearing, and her tail was separating to form the shape of two human legs. Once her scales were gone completely, Steven looked away from Spinel's naked body as it was nearly done forming its new design.

The moment her tails transformation had been completed, Spinel finally stopped screaming and was granted mercy when she lost consciousness, her body going limp against the cot. Steven was relieved she was no longer screaming, but she still seemed to be in pain. "Is that...it?" Steven asked hopefully, trying to steady his own breathing as he removed his hands from Spinel's shoulders. He made sure to keep his gaze on her face to preserve her modesty, getting a little annoyed that another man was in here while she was like this.

Rhodonite placed a thin sheet over Spinel's bare body, allowing Steven to look her over without guilt. It was then that he noticed where the Gem had chosen to position itself. The heart shaped Gem had taken its place right in the middle of Spinel's chest and turned upside down.

"...oh come on..." Steven groaned with a tired sigh. It was like someone was making a bad joke. An upside down heart, over her actual heart that now acted as a target for someone to hurt her?

"The next 12 hours are going to be crucial for her. The Gem will be taking in her energy and attempting to redistribute it. She'll develop a fever and need to stay hydrated. Her new legs will also be weak and cause her a lot of pain. The healing process is different for everyone, but hopefully, she'll be walking in the next few days." Peridot explained, finally looking a little concerned for her old friend.

Steven was forced to walk back to their tent alone while Peridot and Rhodonite dressed Spinel. To make sure she was as comfortable as possible for now, they dressed her in a large nightshirt. Peridot explained that it was best not to cover her legs for now because she would need to be checking them. When Spinel was finally brought back to the tent, Rhodonite was holding her while the Rutile Twins removed the small pool, replacing it with a futon for Spinel to sleep on.

Without a word, they left Steven alone with Spinel while he knelt beside her bed. Though he was still worried about her, he had to admit that her human form was just as lovely as her Mermaid one. With a long sigh, Steven placed his hand over his heart and closed his eyes. He was relieved she had gotten through the worst of it, but this experience had certainly taken years off his life.

He was vigilant in watching over her for the rest of the day, wiping the sweat from her brow, keeping a cold wet rag over her forehead in an attempt to cool her fever, and checking her pulse every so often. They had brought food for him a couple of times during the day, but he honestly wasn't hungry. His stomach was still in knots over the events of this morning.

Before he knew it, the sun had set for the day. The only thing he could take comfort in was that her fever had finally broken and her breathing was no longer as labored as before. As he reached over to remove the cold cloth from her forehead, Spinel's eyes fluttered open slowly.

"...it hurts..." Spinel groaned softly.

"Wh-what hurts?!" Asked Steven in a panic.

Spinel lifted her arm and her eyes opened wider as she examined herself. Her skin tone had changed and her scales were gone. She was terribly aware of her new legs due to the horrible, stinging pain that pulsed from the both of them. She wanted to sit up and check the rest of her body, but everything ached.

"Everything," Spinel replied, "everything hurts."

"Is there anything I can do?

"You can take a walk," began Peridot as she entered the tent. "I need to speak with Spinel alone."

Steven was a bit conflicted. He didn't want to be rude, but the two girls seemed to have a complicated history and he didn't want Peridot to say something that would upset Spinel when she was just starting to feel better.  
"…she's still not feeling well…" answered Steven.

"I wasn't **asking** you," Peridot hissed.

Spinel attempted to sit up, "Steven…could you give us a minute…?"

"…okay, but…don't overdo it. You just woke up…" replied Steven as he got to his feet and reluctantly left the tent so the two could talk in private.


	9. A Difficult Choice

**Chapter Nine: A Difficult Choice**

Alone in the tent, Peridot sat beside Spinel while the formally pink Mermaid rested from her procedure.

"…So...it appears you have learned nothing after all these years," began Peridot.

"What was I supposed to do? I got caught. He helped me get away," answered Spinel, unable to sit up and face Peridot properly. "…he's…not so bad."

"You all said something similar before and how did that turn out for you?

Spinel frowned, feeling her eyes burn, "why did you even help me with this?"

"There are so few of us left. It's best we all help one another, rather than fighting amongst ourselves. …and…I heard what happened to you after the war ended."

"Yeah, so you thought I got what I deserved and now you pity me?" Spinel asked bitterly. "I don't need—"

"—Pity you?!" Peridot shouted in disbelief as she got to her feet. "I don't feel anything like that for you! Not after you and the others betrayed us. It was all of you that got Lapis caught in the first place!"

"We never meant for anyone to get hurt, we were trying to- AGH!" Spinel had tried to sit up and turn to see Peridot as they snapped at one another, but when she tried to move, a stabbing pain shot through her spine.

"You shouldn't move," Peridot stated simply.

"Yeah…I figured that out…" groaned Spinel, carefully laying herself on her back again.

Peridot seemed conflicted for a moment, but she took a deep breath and her expression softened a bit.  
"…considering what happened. …you were also a victim of that woman. She fooled everyone."

Spinel honestly didn't want to talk about any of this, but it's not like she could run off. She wasn't even moving and it felt like thousands of needles were stabbing at her newly formed legs.  
"…Well…I hope that you find Lapis…"

"Oh, I already know where she is, the problem is getting her out," Peridot sighed miserably. "Lapis is being held at the Capital by the royal family."

"…for all this time?" asked Spinel in surprise. "Not that it's not a good thing, but why would they keep her alive for thousands of years just to have her?"

"Lapis is strong…and I'm certain they are using her against us in some way. Over the last few centuries, more and more mermaids have been getting caught too easily. They might be using Lapis to manipulate the waters in their favor."

Spinel felt sick to her stomach. Who knows what the humans were doing to Lapis to make her use her abilities. Why? What had they ever done to make the humans hate them so much?

"I've been posing as a human for a long time, trying to gather information and contacts that can get me closer to the palace where she is being held…and I'm finally getting close. …my point is you should cut that human loose before history repeats itself. Not just for your sake, but for everyone else's. I'm still angry at Lars for even allowing a human in here at all."

Spinel was quiet. She wanted to argue with Peridot, but wouldn't that be like rubbing salt in an old wound? It would probably just be a repeat of the past like Peridot said. After all, this conversation felt horribly familiar.

Peridot wasn't sure what to make of Spinel's silence, but she had said what she came to say. "…I'll be back in a little while to check on your legs. Even when your body starts to feel better, don't try to stand up, you'll just fall and make it worse." Peridot instructed as she left the Tent. The conversation hadn't gone as planned. Though she planned on trying to be a lot more pleasant, when she came in and saw that human acting so familiar with Spinel, her mood soured at once. It didn't get any better when she left the tent and the same human talking so cheerfully with the Rutile twins. She didn't say a word as she passed by them, sure that this human was no different than the one Spinel had met in the past. All Humans were the same. She'd lived among them for a thousand years now in her attempt to save Lapis and she still didn't trust a single one.

Peridot stepped into Lars' tent with an irritated groan.

"The talk didn't go well?" asked Lars as he looked over an old map.

"You knew it wouldn't, but I'm not here to talk about that. I want to talk about that Human you let stay in here. I tested the blood like you asked."

Lars glanced up from the map, "and?"

Peridot looked over her shoulder to make sure no one was listening before she turned back to Lars.  
"You were right. Something is off about that boy. His DNA came across as human…but there is something else in there I can't identify. It's as if his genes have been spliced multiple times."

Lars sighed and rolled up the large map, looking slightly disappointed. "I had hoped it wouldn't be so serious."

"So you're thinking the same thing I am?" asked Peridot.

"I am, but since there is no way to confirm it right now, we have to be cautious. We have to take those two with us to keep an eye on him."

"I'm not going to let that thing roam around when we have all these mermaids to take with us. Let me sedate him and take him back to my workshop. I'll keep him there until I confirm what they did to him."

"We are not going to stoop to their level," Lars insisted. "Besides, we don't know if Steven's even aware of this. He might be innocent."

"-and he might be—"

As Peridot tried to argue with Lars, they felt a large tremor beneath their feet that threw them off balance. They looked at one another in a panic and both turned for the door. Leaving the tent, they witnessed smoke seeping through the camouflaged door that protected their camp.

"It's a raid! Off Colors, we're leaving!" shouted Lars, calling his crew to his side.

The other mermaids had already begun to panic when the tremor rattled the ground. Rutile had planned to pull Steven along with her, but just after the ground began shaking, Steven immediately ran off towards Spinel's tent.

"Steven?! What's going on?!" Spinel asked frantically, sitting up despite the terrible pain.

He wasn't able to explain fast enough before a loud explosion caused another tremor, knocking most of them to the floor. Steven scrambled to his feet as quickly as he could, "We have to go! I'm sorry!"  
He knew it would hurt her, but she still couldn't walk on her own. They could each hear armored footsteps rushing the camp, forcing Steven to ignore Spinel's gasps of pain when he scooped her up into his arms. Unfortunately for them, it was chaos outside the tent now.

Soldiers in golden armor were scattering around the camp to capture the mermaids they had hiding here and whoever was helping them. Lars had called everyone to his side in order to escape, but making a direct rush for his tent seemed impossible now that the soldiers were making their way there. Steven had to think fast, frantically looking for a way out.

"Spinel, this way," shouted Peridot, running hand in hand with Lars, trying to get to as many mermaids as they could. Lars' eyes were glowing a white hot light, and with an echoed shout, a large pink circle appeared in the middle of the floor. Without hesitation, the Off Colors jumped down into the circle, a few others still struggling to get there.

Steven wasn't sure where that hole was going to take them, but they had no other choice. He had to get Spinel there. Turning on his heel, Steven made a dash for the Lars and the others.

"Steven! Look out!" Spinel shouted, spotting a soldier coming up behind them fast.

"GAH," Steven exclaimed painfully as the soldier grabbed his collar to pull him back and slam him against the ground. Though he did his best to keep hold of Spinel, another soldier had grabbed her arm and forced them apart as he fell back.

"I got this one," the guard shouted, tossing Spinel over his shoulder which prompted a painful cry from her lips.

Steven panicked as he watched the guard turn to walk away with Spinel and though he wasn't keen on hurting others, he couldn't allow the soldier to keep him down. As he pushed one soldier off of him, two others came to their comrades' aid, finding it difficult to hold Steven down.

Spinel was trying to look back at Steven, but everything hurt so much. Her newly formed legs were worse than useless. Each nerve burned her from the inside and her entire body ached as if she had been thrown against a large boulder many times. She was trying to concentrate and summon her scythe, but the pain was too much. As she wracked her brain for some sort of solution, she felt a stabbing pain at her ankles. Someone had grabbed her and pulled back as the guard carrying her was falling to the ground. Feeling as though she had been bashed against another rock, Spinel was on the floor, watching as Steven was pinning her captor to the ground. She barely had time to smile before Peridot locked her arms under Spinel's shoulders to try and drag her body towards the warp circle that Lars had made.

Peridot knew that this must be hell for Spinel, but she didn't have the strength to lift her completely. She was forced to drag her along the ground as best she could.

"W-Wait! Steven's still-" Spinel tried as she watched more guards rushing towards Steven.

"We have to go while he's keeping them busy!" Peridot insisted.

"The portal is closing! Hurry up!" Lars demanded as he helped another Mermaid into it, waiting anxiously for Peridot and Spinel.

It was as if everything had gone silent as Spinel was being forced away while Steven was doing his best to keep the soldiers from following them. Her body was screaming and she knew it was difficult for Peridot to drag her away, but were they really going to escape and leave Steven behind? She could vaguely hear him telling them to hurry and leave. Why? Why was he willing to go this far?

"Lars! Grab Spinel!" Peridot shouted, sure that she wouldn't be able to get there on time.

As Lars rushed over to them, Spinel panicked and forced her body to move. It felt as if her bones were breaking as she jerked her arms away from a shocked Peridot. Though she knew it was pointless, Spinel got to her feet, falling to her knees almost immediately, tearing up from the painful shocks that shot through her body.

"Spinel! Get back here!" Peridot cried out. Lars had to hold the small mermaid back, knowing that she'd get caught if she tried to grab Spinel again.

Steven was stunned, watching Spinel struggle to get to her feet.  
"What are you doing?!" he shouted, pinning down another soldier after knocking out a few during the scuffle.

"I'm not leaving you behind, you—you idiot!" Spinel replied, barely finding the strength to speak through the pain. "You're coming with us!"

Steven had been all set to stay behind to give them all time to escape, so he was fine holding the soldiers back, but if Spinel didn't get away, it would all be pointless. Unfortunately, while he was distracted, the soldier he was pinning down had reached his knife, thrusting it into Steven's left side.

"STEVEN!" Spinel screamed, watching helplessly as he doubled over in pain, the soldiers finally getting the upper hand. One stayed to hold him down on the ground, while the two that were left conscious headed for the portal.

"I'm sorry," Lars shouted forcing Peridot to jump into the portal with him. He had to close it before the guards got in and found the other mermaids. He didn't like leaving anyone behind, but he couldn't put the others in danger.

"Spinel! The Capital-" Peridot's words were cut off as the portal closed, leaving Steven and Spinel alone with the remaining guards.

With the portal gone, the soldiers turned for Spinel to drag her away. Steven could only see their blurry figures as they neared the weakened mermaid. If they knew about the Gem, they could easily take her out. His body felt a little cold as his blood seeped slowly from the knife wound, but he couldn't allow himself to pass out now. Once one of the guards pulled Spinel by the hair to lift her up, something snapped inside of Steven.

"DON'T TOUCH HER!" Steven screamed, alarming everyone as the ground beneath him crumbled, a bright pink wave of light rippling from his body and knocking out the remaining soldiers.

Spinel was left sitting on the ground, staring wide eyed at Steven as he panted for breath, barely realizing what he had just done.  
"…wha…?" Spinel breathed, unable to process what had happened. She looked back at the guard that had grabbed her hair. He was bleeding. They all were. From that light? How was that possible and how did it miss her? It was all strange, but she'd have to save her questions for later. Steven was losing consciousness from the blood loss and she was still too far away. She knew that her legs would get her nowhere, so she used her elbows to drag herself along the ground. It took nearly everything she had left in her, but she eventually made it to Steven's side, taking a moment to catch her breath before she tried to get his attention.  
"St-Steven…say something…" she pleaded breathlessly, trying to roll him over onto his back so she could remove his shirt and examine the knife wound.

"…you're….o…kay?" asked Steven, barely able to keep his eyes open.

As looked Steven over, Spinel wasn't sure what to do. His eyelids were threatening to fall, but she could see now that his eyes had changed color. They were pink now. Was it because of the light as well? She shook her head and forced herself to focus on the task at hand. "I'm fine," she lied quickly, pulling up his shirt to find the wound, but was stunned once again to see that it had already closed up. He must have just been weak from the blood he already lost. This was all so confusing, but she was in so much pain and so relieved to see that he was no longer in immediate danger, that she just couldn't bring herself to do anything more. Leaning over, Spinel rested her head on her arms over Steven's chest, needing a moment to gather her thoughts and rest her aching body.


End file.
